Putting a sixth-grader in handcuffs for a bad attitude would seem to be exhibit A in the need to change Colorado’s approach to school discipline.

When the story broke, it seemed so over the top that it couldn’t be true:

An 11-year-old student at Shaw Heights Middle School in Adams County was handcuffed and taken to a holding facility after being “argumentative and extremely rude.”

The story, first reported by 9News, makes no mention of weapons, a physical altercation or the student being a danger to herself or anyone else.

No, Yajira Quezada apparently just mouthed off.

According to the 9News story:

An Adams County Sheriff’s Office incident report says the assistant principal found Yajira walking in the hallway during lunch because the girl claimed she was cold and needed to get a sweater from her locker.

The report says the assistant principal was in mid-sentence when Yajira, “turned and walked away saying, ‘I don’t have time for this.'”

When intervention efforts with a counselor failed, Yajira was handcuffed and put in the school resource officer’s patrol car and taken to a juvenile holding facility called “The Link.”

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.